Three things drive this set: spell power in nearly every slot, as much melee hit as fits under the 9 % cap, and a fast two-hander for the seal. It averages item level 61.8, from dungeons, quests, crafts, reputations and vendors you can reach before the first raids open.

A plate helm, a leather chest, a cloth belt and mail gloves can look random. They follow from the stat weights: a point of spell damage is worth 2.24 Strength, so the search takes whichever item carries the most spell power, hit and crit in each slot, whatever its armor type. You can wear all four types, and our simulator gives no bonus for matching them.

Pre-raid gear

Under each item are the ones just below it and the DPS a swap would cost here. A "level" entry is a swap too small to tell apart from chance.

Weapons

Your seal adds a fixed 24 % of your spell power to every swing. Its weapon-based part is bigger on a slow weapon, but a slow weapon swings less often, so that part comes out the same either way. The faster your two-hander swings, the more of your spell power the seal deals each second. Blade of Hanna, a 2.1-second sword that drops anywhere and binds on equip, wins the two- and three-minute single-boss fights for both factions. Forest Defender's Axe has the same damage per second at 3.3 seconds, plus 28 spell power, and still costs 52.0 DPS. For a Human the sword also turns on Sword Specialization's 2 % crit.

You pull with the Manual Crowd Pummeler from Gnomeregan in your hand: a 2.0-second mace whose use gives 50 % attack speed for 30 seconds. The line under the gear shows what the opener is worth on this fight. It counts most on short fights, where 30 seconds is half the fight. Wowhead lists the Pummeler with three charges. Our simulator uses it once a fight and doesn't count them.

On one-minute fights the set takes The Needler instead, and the searches don't agree with each other here. A second search for the one-boss fight, with PvP gear allowed and none taken, put Blade of Hanna in the Horde set and scored higher. Blade of Hanna is the safe pick.

Trinkets

No single item is worth more than Talisman of Ascendance. Swapping it for the next trinket costs 26.9 DPS, and it comes from a quest in Eastern Plaguelands. Each spell you cast while it is up adds 40 spell damage, to five stacks.

The second slot goes to Adaptive Combat Assistant or the other Pix Xizzix trinket: the searches trade one for the other from fight to fight. The two share a unique-equipped group, so you wear one. Adaptive Combat Assistant gives 2 % expertise, Weakness Analyzer 22 spell power. Our simulator doesn't play either's use effect, so their gap may be wrong in either direction.

Head, back and waist

Stalwart Helm is made by blacksmiths and binds on equip, so the auction house is an option. Its 2 % hit and 38 spell power are hard to match: the next helm costs 7.5 DPS. Arcanoweave Cloak from Pix Xizzix in Stranglethorn Vale has 1 % hit and spell power on a cloak, and the next one costs 11.6 DPS. Belt of the Archmage is a Tailoring belt that binds on equip too, 8.7 DPS ahead of the next.

Legs, shoulders and reputation

The legs are Ironfeather Leggings on this fight. Sentinel's Lamellar Legguards come from the Silverwing Sentinels, so only the Alliance can take them. Ironfeather Leggings are a Leatherworking craft anyone can buy, and on one boss the two are level. On three-boss fights the shoulders turn to the Exalted reward of your faction's Barrens reputation, level with Mantle of the Timbermaw. Your second ring is Brilliant Watcher's Signet, The Watchers' Exalted reward, or Channeler's Ring from Pix Xizzix. The two trade places from fight to fight.

Enchants

• Two-hander: Mighty Spell Power, 55 spell power.
• Head: Arcanum of Focus. Legs: Arcanum of Focus.
• Chest: Major Intellect. Wrists: Healing Power. In Forever it carries 8 spell damage beside the healing, and the spell damage is the part you use.
• Hands: Superior Agility. Back: Lesser Agility. Feet: Mystic Rugged Armor Kit.
• Neck: Spell Power.

Consumables

Bring Flask of Supreme Power above everything. It is worth 9.6 %, more than any two other consumables together, because its 150 spell damage reaches every hit but your white swings. Brilliant Wizard Oil goes on the two-hander instead of a sharpening stone. Its 36 spell damage at 2.24 a point outweighs a stone's 2 % crit at 23.3 a percent, and the oil is worth 2.4 %.

Then the elixirs: Elixir of Holy Power (2.4 %), Greater Arcane Elixir (2.2 %) and Elixir of the Mongoose (2.3 %). Our simulator stacks all three with the flask. Dragonbreath Chili adds all of your spell power to each breath and hits every enemy, so it is worth 2.5 % here and 5.5 % against three bosses.

The Strength buffs, Juju Power, R.O.I.D.S. and Juju Might, add under 1 % each. Blessed Sunfruit needs Revered with the Argent Dawn and adds little. Demonic Rune and Major Mana Potion only count when a fight runs you low, as one boss for three minutes does: the rune is worth 1.3 % there.